I usually start with my kiddo’s lunches, but Miss G was out sick a day last week so today I’m starting with my husband’s lunch.

I tried my hand at making Mujadara, a lentil dish with mixed rice and carmelized onions. It’s a very simple, budget-friendly recipe, and the key is to carmelize the onions well. The longer they cook, the sweeter they become.

This recipe is revised from one I found through Vegetarian Times Magazine.

3 cups rice (I used a brown and wild rice mixture)

1/4 tsp. salt

2 large onions, thinly sliced

1 15-oz. can lentils, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked lentils

½ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 tsp. ground cumin

I made about 3 cups of brown and wild rice. While the rice was cooking, I sliced 2 whole onions (I had red onions) in thin slices, and cooked them in about 1/8 cup of water on a medium-low heat adding water as necessary so they don’t stick. I sprinkled about 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt over the onions an cooked for roughly 30 minutes. I used red lentils which is what I had in the pantry. While the onions were still cooking, I grated lemon zest and cut fresh parsley. When the rice was done cooking, I poured it into a large bowl, fluffed, and stirred in the onion, parsley, lemon zest, and cumin and then placed the rice mixture on plates and scooped the lentils on top. You can also garnish for dinner with a sprig of parsley or lemon wedges. It was very simple and delicious!

The above photo is the leftovers packed in an Easy LunchBoxes container with organic raspberries, watermelon and a cantaloupe $ sign for the breadwinner. I made a sun from the lemon wedges I zested and stuck a parsley sprig in for decoration.

Little Miss A had a very simple bento herself. In her LunchBots Quad are organic fruits (grapes, raspberries and watermelon pieces) with small heart shaped almond butter sandwiches.